Chapter 18: Attraction

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Translator: Soafp

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“You… don't… hate me…?”

I heard Fukase's faint, almost disappearing voice.

“I don’t hate you…”

That was the truth.

What happened back in middle school… I wasn't holding onto it.

The May night breeze was slightly warm.

After seeing Fukase off, I walked alone down a dark street back to my apartment.

“I’m home.”

As I stepped into the entrance, a spicy aroma wafted through the air.

“Hey, welcome back~”

In the living room, Seina, wearing an apron, greeted me while working in the kitchen.

“This smell… is it curry?”

“Yeah. I figured you were too nervous to eat much at the mixer anyway.”

Since I'm bad with women, she assumed I hadn't eaten properly at the mixer and made dinner for me.

But strangely, I hadn’t felt all that nervous this time, and I actually had a decent meal, so I wasn't that hungry…

“So? How was the mixer? Did you get more used to being around women?”

“Hmm, well… I managed to hold a conversation, I guess.”

“What the heck? Sounds like you had a good time then…”

Looking at Seina, who was slightly averting her eyes and muttering softly, I instinctively pulled her into an embrace.

“Whoa? What's up? Missing me that much?”

“Yeah, I was.”

I gently held Seina, and she wrapped her arms around my back. We felt each other's warmth.

“Being hugged by you fills me up, Haruki.”

Seeing the satisfied look on Seina's face made me feel a little… relieved.

Fukase's face, who I had just been with earlier… still lingered in my mind.

What happened in middle school… it was all in the past.

(I'm not holding onto it… I'm not…)

I told myself that, over and over.

“Wanna eat some curry?”

“Yeah, I’m hungry. Let's eat together.”

Sitting at the table with Seina, I took a bite of her home-cooked curry… a moment of happiness.

“It's delicious.”

“Of course it is.”

When I told her how good it was, she smiled in satisfaction.

I had actually eaten plenty at the izakaya, but I made sure she didn't notice, and happily scarfed down the curry she made.

“So? What kind of people were at the mixer?”

“Everyone but me was into sports. I felt a bit out of place. I just tried to match their vibe during the conversation.”

“I see. Guess mixers are a bit much for you, huh?”

“Yeah. That's the last one for me.”

I didn't tell Seina that I had run into Fukase at the mixer.

---

“Hey, hey! Seina, wake up!”

“Mmm… oh, good morning, Haruki. What's going on?”

“‘What's going on?' It's already 7 o'clock!”

“Huh? It's only 7. Let me sleep a little longer…”

Still in bed with me, Seina pulled the blanket over her head, refusing to get up.

“What are you talking about? You're supposed to start your teaching practicum at your old middle school today!”

“Nn… Ah! Oh right, I forgot!”

She kicked off the blanket and leapt out of bed, flustered and clumsy.

“Hey, put on your clothes first.”

“Ahh, where's my underwear!? My bra's gone too! No time to shower now!”

She had to be at the middle school by 8, so there was no time for breakfast.

She fixed her bed hair, threw on a suit, and finished getting ready in about ten minutes.

“Be careful out there.”

“Yeah…”

After a halfhearted reply, she let out a sigh.

“Now that it’s here, this feels like such a pain. Dealing with middle schoolers, ugh…”

“Don't say that. You worked hard to get all your teaching credits, right?”

Seina didn't particularly aspire to be a teacher, which probably made the practicum feel like an even bigger burden.

“But… from today, I won't really get to see you much…”

The practicum lasts three weeks. She'd be coming home late and leaving early. Even if she stayed over at my place, we'd barely have time to sleep together—literally.

So of course, she was going to commute from her own home during the practicum, which meant we'd hardly see each other.

“We'll see each other on the weekends. Plus, I've got job hunting to focus on too. It's better if we both stay focused on our own stuff, right?”

Hearing that, Seina’s face looked even more gloomy.

To lift her spirits, I gently hugged her.

“Seina, do your best out there. I'll do my best too.”

“O-oh…”

A bit flustered by the sudden embrace, she nonetheless responded with a strong, “Got it.”

After seeing her off, I quickly got myself ready.

The warmth from holding her… still lingered in my hands.

And that warmth felt like something truly precious to me right now.

“Alright… time to go.”

Leaving my thoughts behind, I headed off to university.

---

“Ugh, today's gonna be such a drag. University sucks.”

“Hey, Shiraki, you planning to keep playing baseball after graduation?”

A few days had passed since the long holidays ended, and our usual university life had resumed.

“Hmm, not sure. I mean, I could keep going in some company league or something, but it's not like I have what it takes to go pro.”

Even Shiraki, who usually seemed carefree, looked troubled when it came to thinking about the future.

“By the way, Shiraki. Did you get anywhere with Ishii-san at that mixer?”

“W-What?! How did you know I was into Ishii-san!?”

“Well… you were talking to her the whole time. It was kinda obvious.”

Shiraki looked a bit awkward, but perhaps he had resigned himself to it—he soon opened up his heart.

“Listening to Ishii-san talk, you can really tell how much she cares about her friends. So… I guess I just thought that was nice…”

It seemed like such a simple reason—very typical of Shiraki.

Well, maybe the mechanism of falling for someone is actually quite simple.

I mean, I'm probably the same…

“What!?”

“H-Huh? What's wrong?”

Shiraki suddenly raised his voice while looking at his phone, startling me.

“Ah… no, it's nothing…”

He fiddled with his phone for a bit and then slipped it into his pocket.

“Hey, Asano-kun, you're done with classes by noon, right?”

“Yeah. I've already gotten most of my graduation credits.”

“Lucky you,” Shiraki muttered as he walked beside me, continuing the conversation.

“Um, so… what are you doing for lunch?”

“I usually eat at the cafeteria. I've got no plans today, so… I figured I'd go home and study or something.”

“Uh… Endo, does she have afternoon classes?”

“No, Seina is excused from classes starting today for her teaching practicum.”

Why is this guy asking about Seina's schedule?

“I see, that's perfect!”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Ah, no, it's nothing…”

When I asked, Shiraki cleared his throat as if trying to play it cool.

“Actually, there's this family restaurant I've been wanting to go to. Wanna grab lunch there?”

“Wait, don't you have class this afternoon?”

“Ah—yeah, I'm skipping today.”

This guy already struggles to keep up with his regular classes, and he's skipping?

(This really isn't the time to be skipping classes…)

Despite my concern, Shiraki kept urging me: “Come on, let's go already.”

“Alright, alright.”

Honestly, I had eaten everything the cafeteria had to offer, so eating somewhere different for a change didn't sound too bad. I decided to go along with Shiraki to the family restaurant.

---

“Alright… here we are. Let's go in…”

The place Shiraki brought me to was a well-known family restaurant with locations all over the country.

It was about a 20-minute walk from campus. Standing in front of it, Shiraki looked slightly tense.

We were just going into a family restaurant, so I couldn't understand why he was so nervous.

“Hey, come on, let's go in. I'm starving.”

“Y-Yeah…”

When I urged him, he let out a big breath and finally opened the door.

“Welcome!”

A loud voice from a staff member rang through the restaurant.

It was a weekday, but since it was lunchtime, the place was a bit crowded.

“Party of two, right? I'll show you to an open table.”

The staff kindly approached and offered to seat us, but—

“Um, actually… I think our companions are already here.”

(Companions?)

As he said that, Shiraki scanned the entire restaurant.

“Hey Shiraki. You meeting someone?”

“Huh? Ah—there they are. This way, Asano-kun.”

Ignoring my question, he pulled me along by the arm.

Based on Shiraki's behavior leading up to this point and the way he was acting now, I had a bad feeling about this.

“S-Sorry we're late!”

At the farthest table in the back of the restaurant, Shiraki cheerfully offered an apology.

“It's fine—we just got here too.”

The woman who stood up quickly and smiled kindly was Ishii-san, who had been at that group mixer a few days ago.

“Hello, Asano-kun.”

“Oh… hello, Ishii-san.”

“You remembered my name.”

The mixer was still fresh in my memory, and I also remembered how Ishii-san had taken the lead among the girls.

She had also gone out of her way to make Fukase, who couldn't join in the conversation very well, feel more included—that had left a strong impression on me.

“Hey, he's here.”

Ishii-san turned to the person sitting beside her and called out.

That person had been hunched over, almost hiding behind her—but then slowly stood up, raised her head, and our eyes met.

“H-Hi…”

“F-Fukase…”

The moment I saw Ishii-san, I had a feeling it might be her sitting next to her…

Fukase gave a slightly awkward greeting and looked away once—but then looked back and locked eyes with me, this time without turning away.

The look in her eyes seemed to be silently saying something.

And I… couldn't look away.